Background: To understand the present situation of psychological symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED) patients and analyze their related factors to give appropriate psychological adjustment.
Methods: One hundred and five patients diagnosed with ED from March 2016 to March 2017 that visited our Outpatient Clinic of Andrology were recruited. Baseline date including age, educational level, marital status, weight, smoking and drinking status, etc. were gathered. Psychological status for included participants were evaluated using Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), an elf-assessment symptom scoring symptom. The erectile status for the participants were assessed by International Index of Erectile Function 5 (IIEF-5). A multivariate linear regression model was applied to investigation the possible factors affecting the erectile status, with an adjusting R2 to interpret the variability.
Results: In the assessment of SCL-90, the score was relatively higher in the enrolled patients than in the norm, except for the score in the “interpersonal relationship” item. Besides, the identified factors that could significantly affect the SCL-90 score were the duration of ED and patient’s marital satisfaction level. Furthermore, the nocturnal penile erection and the depression and anxiety psychological problems could statistically influence the IIEF-5 scores.
Conclusions: Obvious psychological problems existed in ED patients, in which depression and anxiety statistically influence the IIEF-5 scores. The optimal treatment strategy should be targeted in patient psychological status and combined with the treatment of the spouses.
